My Internship Has Been a Roller Coaster (Literally)

There is never a dull day working in the theme park industry. Since day one, I buckled my seatbelt, fastened my lap bar, kept my hands and feet inside the vehicle, and so far, it has been one wild ride. I am fortunate enough that my internship at Six Flags Great America as the Marketing and Content Creation Intern has been so hands on and I have had amazing opportunities that have helped me grow as a professional.

From day one, I experienced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch Governor JB Pritzker host a live press conference to announce that Six Flags Great America would be donating 50,000 tickets to the State of Illinois as a vaccine incentive. This was amazing to witness as it has been over a decade since a sitting Governor has visited the park. I also got to see first-hand what it takes to execute a press conference with a political figure.

New this year to Hurricane Harbor Chicago is Tsunami Surge, the world’s tallest water coaster. Back in May, I had the opportunity to assist in the media day event for the waterpark’s new slide.

The day was not an ideal waterpark day as it was around 50 degrees outside, but it was awesome getting to see all the reporters attend the event, super excited to be one of the first ones to ride the new slide. This was one of my first real interactions with media and I learned a lot on how news segments are filmed.

My favorite project I have gotten to work on was being a VIP tour guide for Chance the Rapper and Jennifer Hudson. Both visited the park with their families and friends, and I was chosen to help escort them throughout the park and made sure their trip was fantastic. In this field, it is not unusual that I will have to work with high profile celebrities, and this was a great opportunity to learn how to professionally interact with those celebrities.

Working at Six Flags Great America has harnessed my passion for the theme park industry. I love coming to work every day and every day there is something new. Working as the Marketing and Content Creation Intern has given me an opportunity to learn first-hand how to execute PR for a theme park. I am excited to see where this internship will take me and hope to continue my career in the theme park industry.